Venice masks

Friday, 28 April 2023

At School - Eduard Hoornik

At school they were both written on the board.
The verb to have and the verb to be;
With this time, and eternity were born,
The one reality, the other illusion.

To have is nothing. Is war. Is not life.
Is to be of the world and its gods.
To be, is to stand above those things,
Become filled with heavenly pain.

To have is hard. Is body. Is two breasts.
Is to hunger and thirst for the earth.
Is the duty of each pondering and bud.

To be is soul, is listening, is making way,
Is becoming a child and looking at the stars,
And lifted up slowly toward that place.

Eduard Hoornik (1910 - 1970) The Netherlands
Translator not stated

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